


A Birthday Drabble for junipernapalm

by wingedmermaid



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Fluff, M/M, just fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-17
Updated: 2015-06-17
Packaged: 2018-04-04 19:12:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4149612
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wingedmermaid/pseuds/wingedmermaid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bertolt likes to watch the sunset from high places. This evening company finds him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Birthday Drabble for junipernapalm

**Author's Note:**

  * For [junipernapalm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/junipernapalm/gifts).



> A very happy birthday to [junipernapalm](http://junipernapalm.tumblr.com/)! Thank you so much for being a sweetheart and for making so many lovely things for this tiny ship!

The chores were done, dinner was finished, and the last rays of the sun were disappearing over the top of the fence that enclosed the training yard. Bertolt sat quietly on top of one of the horse barns. The rough shingles were uncomfortable and sometimes gave him splinters but this was the only place that would let him catch the last few minutes of sunlight that graced the compound. 

“Bertolt?”

Bertolt nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Bertolt, what the hell are you doing up here?”

Bertolt caught himself hunching his shoulders forward in an effort to look smaller and forced himself to straighten out. It never helped. A shock of blonde hair moved into Bertolt’s field of vision and Jean let out an annoyed sigh. 

“Shadis will flay you if he catches you up here.”

“I know...” Bertolt murmured. 

Jean sat down rather carefully beside him and shoved his shoulder against Bertolt’s. “Were you watching the sun set? You girl.”

Bertolt turned his head away and made a noise that could have been either a yes or a no.

Jean laughed suddenly, low and malicious. “I could hit that idiot with a shingle and he’d never know what happened.”

“Please don’t,” Bertolt felt a shock of fear shoot through him at being discovered up here. He wondered for a moment why he hadn’t felt that way when Jean had found him but Jean was testing the shingles to find a loose one and there was no time to reflect. “Jean, please?”

Jean smirked at Bertolt as his fingers pried at one that had some give to it. “Why not? He deserves it.”

Bertolt didn’t agree but he knew better than to try and tell Jean so. He wracked his brain for a better reason as he watched Eren and his friends cross the yard below them. “Eren... Eren’s so loud when he’s mad, Shadis might hear...”

Jean’s face fell and he dropped the loose shingle back onto the roof. “Ugh. You’re right.” He kicked at the thin piece of wood and it skittered away, coming to rest near the edge of the roof. Bertolt remembered how to breathe as nothing but a bit of dust blew over the edge.

They sat in silence, shadows stretching across the roof as purples and pinks and oranges suffused the soft clouds then began to fade into darkness.

“It’s nice,” Jean said finally, his rough voice softer than Bertolt had ever heard it before. “Up here, I mean.”

Bertolt turned his head to look at him. Jean’s profile was lit by the last light of the sunset and his eyes were focused somewhere far away. A slow warmth stirred in Bertolt’s stomach. 

Jean jerked suddenly, a shiver that travelled from the his head all the way down his back. “Sure is fuckin’ cold up here though.” He didn’t even glance at Bertolt as he leaned over and pressed himself against Bertolt’s long side. “How do you manage to stay so damn warm all the time?”

Bertolt didn’t dare move. The slow warmth had erupted into chaotic fireworks inside him. Bertolt focused on keeping his breathing calm and even with Jean’s lithe, warm body pressed against him. 

“Hey,” Jean looked up at him, the pale brown of his eyes just visible in the falling dusk. “I asked you a question.”

“I-I don’t know...” Bertolt managed to keep his voice from cracking with anxiety, but just barely.

“It’s not fair.” Jean informed him tartly, grabbing Bertolt’s hand by the wrist and yanking it around his shoulders. 

Bertolt tried his hardest not to react but he must have made some small noise because Jean turned his head to stare up at him again, eyes narrowed. “What.”

“N-nothing,” Bertolt stammered.

Jean sat up, pushing away from Bertolt. “You upset or something?”

“I just-” Bertolt’s mind spun trying to find words to explain himself that his tongue wouldn’t trip over too badly. “I- I’m afraid of the dark.”

Jean tilted his head, seemingly unsure of what expression to make. “You’re _what?_ ” 

“A-afraid of the dark...” Bertolt whispered. And it was true. The moment when the sun slipped away from him and the darkness closed in was one he dreaded every night.

Jean laughed. He laughed until Bertolt thought he might be sick on his behalf. When Jean finally wound to a stop, still chucking softly in little fits, he had to wipe tears from his eyes. Bertolt wished he could dissolve into the twilight as easily as his shadow had.

Jean grabbed the back of Bertolt’s head and pulled him down to bump foreheads. “Idiot.”

Bertolt blinked at him, too startled by the strange behaviour to react.

“I’m with you. What have to got to be afraid of?” Jean’s smirk was back but the cruelty was gone. “I’m going to take the number one spot this year so you’d damn well feel safe around me.”

Bertolt choked out a laugh. Jean had puffed his chest out so proudly as he made his grand statement. 

“Well?” Jean demanded, a challenge in his tone as he turned to face Bertolt. “Do you feel safe or not?”

“I do.” Bertolt couldn’t help the smile that crept onto his face.

“Good.” Jean glanced away, looking back up at the sky. “You’ve got a nice smile, Bertolt. You should use it more often.”

Bertolt was glad the darkness hid his blush. “We should go...” he said softly.

“Naw. Let’s stay a little longer,” Jean replied casually. In the dark his hand found Bertolt’s and squeezed it. “I haven’t watched the stars with someone else in ages.”


End file.
